Hi folks,

I joined because this seems to be the best place to learn about the Krag rifle and figure out what I just got myself in to 

It all started when a coworker was talking about wanting to get a new gun, and kind of was interested in milsurps but didn't know anything about them. As a joke I said "Well get a Krag" and as I was showing him info on it, I started getting the itch to get one. A Krag rifle is on my list of rifles that I had been wanting to add to my arsenal (as the media would probably call it). He ended up getting a RRA LAR-8, and I ended up watching a handful of Krags on Gunbroker that looked really nice as collectors but could also be shooters.

Well before I know it I was bidding on one and was trying to explain to my wife why I won an auction for a full length Model 1896 off Gunbroker. It was just too much for me to resist. She just shook her head (I claimed I horse traded for another gun, but as you know..you never sell a gun). Now I'm waiting for it to arrive, and watching UPS tracking to follow its progress.

I'm pretty excited. I think I got a decent deal. From pics the seller had posted it would be almost flawless if not for a chip in the stock. The seller claims the stock was sanded down, but I have read that a lot of Model 1896 had arsenal-replaced stocks which didn't have the inspector's cartouche stamped on the side (I've been reading a lot about Krags in the past week or two).

Serial # is 55244, which places it at mid-January 1897 from what I've read. I have reloading dies coming and I'll figure out what to load up when I can slug the bore.

So for you Krag aficionados here, feel free to take a look at the completed listing and tell me what you think. It was the best I saw on GB in that price range which is why I jumped on it.

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This will be a nice shooter that I'll keep and pass on to my kids.  Since I have 3 kids I'll have to find 2 more before they grow up!

-Jason

Here are the stamps that are on the outside of the stock

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And another view of the area where there should be a cartouche.  Again, I don't see any evidence there was one present.

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How far down would the stock have to be sanded to remove any evidence of a cartouche?  .020"? .050"?  That's quite a bit, and I'd expect that'd be noticeable.  So here's a measurement of the width, and perhaps someone with an unsanded Krag can compare.  That's about 1.590" if you can't read a dial indicator.

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And here's a view of the buttstock looking down.  It definitely does not have the look of a heavily sanded stock.  If it is sanded, they did a good job, did it a long time ago, and kept good care of the rifle afterwards.

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So after taking these photos, I continued to strip the rifle down to its basic components to clean.  Got it all cleaned up and...  the power went out!  While I'm in the basement with no windows.  (Found out later someone had hit a telephone pole up the highway).

So I ended up putting it back together with just the light of my iPhone to show me what was going on...without instructions which I had been displaying on my computer screen down there.  I was able to do this successfully, so I'd say it's a rather simple rifle to assemble and disassemble, but the intricacies of the Krag components are a heck of a lot of fun.

Oh!  Almost forgot the sling..

So an M1907 sling was on the rifle with these markings:

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But unfortunately as soon as I touched it shortly after opening the box, this happened:

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You win some you lose some. 

I really think this rifle was a safe queen for decades.

One more of the kid.. he's always been a ham for the camera

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Beautiful Krag!  My 1898 shows no sign of the cartouche either... and I'm fairly certain that the stock has been sanded during an arsenal rebuild, which was not uncommon.  You do have a very sharp proof mark though.  Let us know how it shoots...

Paul